At five wickets down with ۱۲۵ required off ۷۹ balls, Pakistan were teetering on the edge of yet another batting collapse when Arafat Minhas walked in to bat in the final of the One-Day International (ODI) tri-nation cricket series against Sri Lanka.
An expectant home crowd in Lahore was on tenterhooks as the ۲۱-year-old all-rounder began his batting partnership with Hasan Nawaz under the floodlights of the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
Minhas, who had gone wicketless in Sri Lanka’s innings, showed few signs of the pressure mounting on the young batting pair and began the repair job.
Within a few overs, the run chase swayed back in Pakistan’s favour but the final remained tense.
With the hosts needing ۳۹ runs from ۲۷ balls, Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka bowled a delivery at length, angling the ball into Minhas.
Unnerved by the occasion and his own lack of experience, the batter swung his bat across the line and sent the ball soaring over midwicket for six to ignite the crowd and rekindle lost hope.
Following this defining moment of his innings, Arafat coolly went on to hit four more sixes, finish with ۶۱ runs off ۳۱ balls, help Pakistan clinch the trophy and bag himself the player of the series award.
He ended the series with nine wickets and ۱۴۹ runs, including two half-centuries.
Commentators on the host broadcast ran out of superlatives for the promising all-rounder, who admitted that he “enjoyed the pressure” of the final run-chase and tried to remain calm.
“The team needed someone to believe that we could achieve the target.”
‘Complete all-rounder’
Before shining with the bat in the final, Arafat produced one of the finest bowling performances of his fledgling international career against England in Rawalpindi on October ۱۰.
After scoring ۵۹ off ۵۸ balls to help Pakistan recover from ۸۱-۴ and post ۳۰۲-۹, Minhas took six wickets for ۴۰ runs as England were bowled out for ۲۱۵, handing Pakistan an ۸۷-run win.
England were at ۹۱ without losing a wicket before Arafat dismantled their batting order.
Among his victims was swashbuckling batter Harry Brook, who was bowled for five by a delivery that turned past his attempted defensive shot and hit the stumps.
The England captain was left stunned at the crease and in the post-match media talk.
“Is he under ۲۱? I didn’t know,” Brook said after the match.
More plaudits poured in as Minhas showed his all-round skills on the field.
“A half-century, six wickets and a run out. Mike Hesson wants all-round cricketers and he’s found one in Arafat Minhas,” former England captain Nasser Hussain said during the broadcast.
The performance made him the third Pakistani to score a half-century and take at least five wickets in a men’s ODI after Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq.
On his ODI debut against Australia in May, Arafat took ۵-۳۲, becoming the first Pakistani to claim a five-wicket haul on debut, as well as winning the player of the series award.
“I prefer not to label players as batting or bowling all-rounders,” Minhas later said in an interview with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “I’d rather be seen as a complete all-rounder.”
An early foundation
Thirteen years earlier, Minhas dreamed of becoming a fast bowler like every other aspiring Pakistani cricketer.
But the then-eight-year-old was handed a leather cricket ball and instructed to take up left-arm spin by his father, Kashif, who spent years helping Arafat develop the all-round skills that are now helping Pakistan win matches.
Kashif had represented his hometown team, Multan, in under-۱۹ cricket but was forced to give up on his dream – “with a heavy heart” – by his father, who urged him to take over the family’s car showroom business.
Years later, watching his sons play with toy eggs and plastic balls, Kashif saw a spark.
“When I observed them, I saw their playing style wasn’t ordinary; it seemed like a natural gift and a blessing from God,” Kashif told Al Jazeera. “I thought: ‘why not train them for professional cricket’?”
He would go on to buy full kits for his sons, setting them on the path towards professional cricket.
“My father handed me a hard ball when I was about eight or nine and I’ve bowled left-arm spin ever since [but] In tape-ball cricket, I used to bowl fast,” Minhas explained when asked about his control on his bowling variations.
Minhas rapidly progressed through Pakistan’s age-group system, becoming the country’s best under-۱۶ player in his final year before breaking into the under-۱۹ team.
In ۲۰۲۰, when the COVID-۱۹ pandemic lockdown threatened to interrupt his sons’ development, Kashif built a cricket practice facility on the rooftop of his house in Multan.
A net, a mat pitch and floodlights were installed to ensure that “practice wouldn’t stop”.
In ۲۰۲۴, when Pakistan reached the semifinals of the ICC Under-۱۹ World Cup and lost to Australia by one wicket, Minhas played a key role in the team’s progress in the tournament.
Given his standout performances, the young all-rounder’s elevation to the senior team seemed inevitable.
Brothers living a father’s dream
Minhas’s younger brother, Sameer, is a prodigious right-handed opening batter who has also made significant progress.
Last week, he was included in Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka in November.
Playing his first season of first-class cricket, Sameer scored ۴۰۵ runs in seven matches, following his own promising spell with Pakistan’s under-۱۹ team. Their youngest brother, Abdullah, is also pursuing cricket as a left-handed batter and leg-spinner.
“To move forward, I’ll improve and put in whatever extra work is required,” Minhas said after the England match. “This isn’t the final goal. The ultimate goal is much further ahead.”
Kashif’s ambition extends beyond one son’s career. He wishes for all three boys to play together for Pakistan and win an international trophy – a dream that would give a new ending to the cricketing journey he had to abandon.
“My ultimate dream is to see all three of my sons play together in the Pakistan playing XI and bring home an ICC trophy for Pakistan. That’s the day my dream will be complete, and that void will truly be filled.”
